Management of climate change and ecosystem approaches in Local development Plans: The Ecosystem Alliance Program develop consultations with Ndiayéne Pendao and Ndiébéne Gandiole.

These local consultations consisted on better harmonizing the approaches for ecosystem management in this part of the Senegal River Valley. This area consists mainly of wetlands, but suffers the phenomenon of land degradation and water scarcity in the context of climate change. Meanwhile, the communities that depend on this land as well as the organizations they implemented to tackle the problem, have limited technical, financial and organizational capacity. Such insufficiencies not only prevent them to better defend their rights to access and control land, but also deprive them to control the main circuits of production, processing and marketing.

This situation justifies the whole point and the pertinence of the exchanges that Wetlands International Africa and its partners carried out from 06th to 7th November, 2013 with community delegates of Ndiayéne Pendao and Ndiébéne Gandiole, two districts in the region of Saint-Louis, northern Senegal as part of the implementation of the Ecosystem Alliance Program. '' We want local partners to integrate the Climate change and Ecosystem approaches in their Local Development Plans (PLD)'', said Pape Mawade Wade and Yakhya Gueye, both officers of Wetlands International Africa (WIA).

In the areas of intervention within the Senegal River Valley as well as those in the Delta of Saloum River, participatory approach initiated by the Ecosystem Alliance (EA) under the leadership of Wetlands International Africa, takes into account all concerns of Civil Society Organizations and Community Based Organizations. WIA is supported in this process by other key players such as WAAME ENDA Energy, Civil, the Association Inter Villager (AIV) Forum Ndiaël and Village Development Committee (CVD) Dasselamé Serere.

But specifically, the intervention of the Alliance Ecosystem in the Senegal River Valley, as well as in the Delta of Saloum River, will help to solve the imbalance in managing the link between ecosystems and livelihoods. It will also help to create a green economy, and foster ownership of the concept of ecosystems, populations and climate change by communities living in areas covered by the program.

Already, the Regional Integrated Development Plan (IRDP) for Fatick in central Senegal, has been validated. It is a decisive achievement by the Ecosystem Alliance for the Saloum Delta River where ecosystem restoration actions were generally concentrated in Foundiougne.

Thus IRDP will redirect more attention to Fatick and Gossas where lands are increasingly salty. This happens because on the mainland of Saloum, there is the problem of palm groves and cashew farming. Nonetheless, they can be additional sources of household income and reduce the high pressure on mangrove resources. This means the availability of many projects to come for Ecosystem Alliance Program in Senegal.